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NHL Picks

NHL Picks: Shaky Montreal Won't Stop Canucks -130

The Montreal Canadiens have nine straight regulation victories. Can they extend this record streak in a game vs the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night? Read more inside & discover our NHL free pick.

MomentumThe Canadiens will certainly have momentum on their side when they open their three-game trip on the heels of nine straight wins including victories on back-to-back nights against the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs. Montreal easily cashed on the NHL odds against the Sabres in a 7-2 win with its backup goalie between the pipes before turning back to Carey Price in a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs. They continue to preach taking their schedule one game at a time, as they look to extend their perfect record.

Meanwhile, the Canucks find themselves in a tough spot early on as they have followed up back-to-back wins over division rivals Anaheim and Los Angeles with four straight one-goal losses with each of the last three coming at home. Vancouver is 0-2-3 on home ice this season and it isn’t going to get any easier for them against the Canadiens on Tuesday night. When they’re playing like that, it’s hard to take them with your NHL picks.

Projected Starting Goalies
Carey Price has followed up his Vezina and Hart trophy-winning campaign with a stellar start to this year as he is 7-0-0 with a 1.29 GAA and .961 save percentage. The Vancouver-native should be back between the pipes for Montreal on Tuesday night and will look to add to his outstanding start with a win in his hometown.

Meanwhile, the Canucks are expected to turn back to Ryan Miller after he started each of their first eight games this season. Miller is 3-2-3 with a 2.09 GAA and .926 save percentage, and will certainly need more help from the team in front of him if Vancouver is going to snap its current losing streak.

Outlook
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the first couple of weeks for the Canucks is the fact that Alex Burrow and Brandon Sutter are tied for the team lead with six points each. The Sedins have been decent as well with Daniel tallying two goals and three assists, while Henrik has two goals and two assists, but the bottom line is that Vancouver isn’t deep enough to win games if the Sedins aren’t producing at an elite level. Miller has been solid for the Canucks so far, but the offense is still searching for a consistent rhythm, and that won’t be easy to find against Price and the Canadiens. Meanwhile, Montreal has had no trouble rolling all four lines led by Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, and Brendan Gallagher, who have formed one of the best top lines in the NHL early on. That trio has combined for 16 goals in nine games, but they haven’t done it alone, as role players like Dale Weise and Torrey Mitchell have three goals each already. Montreal is playing with an absolutely perfect balance throughout its lineup and while they might have a tough time staying undefeated for much longer, they catch the Canucks at the perfect time with their confidence shaken following a rough start on home ice, and they should be able to improve to 10-0-0 with a win in this contest.